During the pre-election budget last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP announced some significant changes that could have a detrimental impact on landlords the UK’s private rental sector (PRS) and residential property owners.

Below are the highlights of the pre-election budget that are of relevance […]

How Landlords Are Affected By 2015 Pre-Election Budget

How Landlords Are Affected By 2015 Pre-Election Budget

During the pre-election budget last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP announced some significant changes that could have a detrimental impact on landlords the UK’s private rental sector (PRS) and residential property owners.

Below are the highlights of the pre-election budget that are of relevance to landlords and property owners:

£13 Billion (GBP) sale announced of the mortgages of UKAR – Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley (Mortgage Express) to reduce national debt which followed the bailing out of the banks.

Introduction of 20 new housing zones.

The economy of the North grew faster than the South during 2014.

The UK has the highest rate of employment in its history!
Employment is growing fastest in the North West, Yorkshire having the biggest employment.

Living standards are higher in 2015 than 2010.

Inflation forecast downgraded to 0.2%.

Low interest rates to be “locked in”.

Original target of debt reduction set in 2010 budget has been met.

13 years of rising national debt has now been stopped.

UK achieved the largest and most sustained debt reduction of any major economy according to the IMF.

Government borrowing is falling.

The wealthy are making the biggest contributions to reduce debt.

End of austerity in 2019.

The annual tax return is to be abolished. New digital tax accounts to be created.

The personal tax free allowance has been raised to £10,600 (GBP) and will be raised to £11,000 (GBP) in 2017.

The higher rate tax threshold will rise to £43,300 (GBP) by 2018.

Class 2 national insurance contributions abolished for self-employed.

Stronger measures against tax avoidance and tax evasion.

Review of avoidance of inheritance tax through deeds of variation.

New penalties for tax evasion and those professionals who assist them.

Crime down 20%.

There was some good news contained in the 2015 pre-election budget too:

UK property price optimism among private rental sector landlords and residential property owners has dropped to the lowest recorded level for 18 months after buy to let mortgage lending in January was reported to be decidedly sluggish.

Property Optimism Falls To Lowest Level For 18 Months

UK property price optimism among private rental sector landlords and residential property owners has dropped to the lowest recorded level for 18 months after buy to let mortgage lending in January was reported to be decidedly sluggish.

Traditionally, the UK property market generally experiences a slow start that incrementally builds to a summer buying frenzy before reaching another plateau and then a further period of increase followed by a gradual easing at the end of the year.

The latest Halifax House Price Index (HPI) found that UK property prices increased by just 2% in January 2015, reaching a new UK average property price of £193,130 (GBP).

Combined with figures released by the Department of Communities and Local Government, showing a slowdown in the number of new homes being built, and it is clear why landlord and residential property owners optimism has fallen.

60% of landlords and property owners, surveyed for the lender’s latest housing market confidence tracker report, expected the average property price to be significantly higher in 12 month’s time.

This means that house price optimism has fallen by 10 points from 62 to +52, the lowest level of consumer confidence since June 2013, when 52% of private rental sector landlords and residential property owners expected a large rise in property prices.

So what’s different?

In June 2013 UK inflation was at 2.9% compared to the current 0.3%

Employment was just over 30 Million compared to today’s figure of 30.9 Million

Mortgage lending levels were at £15 Billion (GBP) compared to the current £17 Billion (GBP).

Despite the fact that the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2014 increased by 2.6% and all members of the Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to hold interest rates at 0.5%, the dip in confidence levels over UK property prices reflects public concern over the UK economy in general.

Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at the Halifax said that “More than half of consumers still believe UK property prices will be higher than they are now in a year’s time; however optimism has continued to weaken. Despite this we’re now seeing a return to the seasonal trend for house price activity”.

But he pointed out that of more concern are the figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government showing a slowdown in the number of new homes being built. ‘It’s widely acknowledged that the UK needs an increase in the amount of new housing being built,’ said McKinlay.

‘The Lloyds Banking Group Commission on Housing targeted 2 to 2.5 million new homes built by 2025 new homes to be built before 2025. If we are to address demand the increase in new homes coming onto the market needs to be sustainable,’ he explained.

The Governments plan to make private rented sector (PRS) and social housing landlords legally responsible for checking the immigration status of all tenant applicants has raised questions on the policy from MP’s.

The proposal to make landlords perform immigration checks on tenants and prosecute those who fail to comply has caused outrage […]

Even MP’s Think Landlord Immigration Checks Are Unworkable

MP’s Question Immigration Checks By Landlords

The Governments plan to make private rented sector (PRS) and social housing landlords legally responsible for checking the immigration status of all tenant applicants has raised questions on the policy from MP’s.

The proposal to make landlords perform immigration checks on tenants and prosecute those who fail to comply has caused outrage among UK PRS landlords, who would be expected to be doing the UK Border Agency’s work without payment.

Following the outline of the new proposals, Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, a former housing minister, told the House of Commons during a lively debate on the Queens speech that landlords performing immigration checks on tenants would be unworkable, stating that: “The Government cannot tell us how their policy will be enforced, because they do not know who the landlords are and they will not have a statutory register.”

New research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) shows UK property prices rising by 0.8% in 2012.

CEBR confirm a view that has remained fairly consistent for the last 3 years, that low interest rates and an increasing availability of mortgage products suitable for First Time Buyers (FTB’s), next time buyers and […]

New research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) shows UK property prices rising by 0.8% in 2012.

CEBR confirm a view that has remained fairly consistent for the last 3 years, that low interest rates and an increasing availability of mortgage products suitable for First Time Buyers (FTB’s), next time buyers and Buy To Let Landlords will help UK residential property prices creep up over the 2012-2016 period, reaching pre-recession levels in the second quarter of 2016.

The CEBR based its forecasts on a mix of micro and macro factors.

The key micro factor is the shortage of housing relative to potential household formation.

The key new micro issue is the changes in the planning regulations re-announced in the Budget.

These are likely gradually to boost the supply of housing and will constrain the gentle rise in house prices.

The key macro factors are

Affordability

Employment

Mortgage availability

The first of these will be slightly positive, the second slightly negative and the third increasingly positive.

The CEBR expect the mortgage famine to ease gradually as further quantitative easing flows through the economy and as banks recapitalise themselves.

“House prices have been pretty stable over the past two years” says Shehan Mohamed, main author of this report “Lending for housing was £74.5 billion in 2011 and we forecast that this will rise to £109.9 billion by 2016”.

CEBR’s regional house price analysis, also included in the report, shows house prices are likely to continue to rise more quickly in the London and the South East, though the gap in house price inflation with the rest of the country is likely to close because of the 7% stamp duty and the heavy taxation on corporate home ownership announced in the Budget and because of the non-recurrence of special factors like the Arab Spring and the euro crisis which boosted the London market in 2011.

New data released by LSL property services has shown that in February, working tenants in the UK Private Rented Sector were paying 0.6% less in rental asking prices than they were in January.

Rents for working tenants have been falling slightly since November 2011, after rising steadily for the preceding nine months of the year.

[…]

New data released by LSL property services has shown that in February, working tenants in the UK Private Rented Sector were paying 0.6% less in rental asking prices than they were in January.

Rents for working tenants have been falling slightly since November 2011, after rising steadily for the preceding nine months of the year.

According to LSL, the average private sector rent for working tenants in England and Wales is now around £707 per calendar month.

Tenants in employment are paying on average £24 a month more now compared to the same period last year, that’s an increase of 3.5%.However, residential property rents in London continue to outpace the rest of the UK, with rental values up 5.6% on March 2011 prices.

Economists expect the recession and rising unemployment to squeeze the already stretched household finances of thousands of struggling families this year and are warning UK homeowners and landlords of a sharp rise in residential property repossessions.

Record low Bank of England (BoE) interest rates and […]

UK Property Repossessions are forecast to increase 22% in 2012

UK Property Repossessions are forecast to increase 22% in 2012

Economists expect the recession and rising unemployment to squeeze the already stretched household finances of thousands of struggling families this year and are warning UK homeowners and landlords of a sharp rise in residential property repossessions.

Record low Bank of England (BoE) interest rates and lower than expected unemployment figures kept property repossessions to relatively small numbers through the worst days of the first half of the recession and they eased again as the country struggled into a tepid recovery.

However, with a double dip recession inevitably looming, workers incomes failing to cover spiralling household costs, the Government’s economic cutbacks and welfare reforms starting to bite whilst the beleaguered private sector fails to replace jobs lost in the public sector, economists are fearing the worst.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) had already forecast a 22% rise in UK property repossessions for 2012 increasing the annual property repossession figures to around 45,000.

The property repossession figures include private residential properties where mortgage payments have lapsed and Buy-To-Let properties where landlords did not have <a title=”Landlord Insurance” href=”http://www.legal4landlords.com/rent-guarantee/” target=”_blank”>Rent Guarantee Insurance</a> and have been unable to keep up with their buy-to-let mortgage repayments due to their tenants not paying the rent.

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